


A Rebel and a Skirt Chaser

by ZaccRiseC3P



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Flashback, Gen, MIT years
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-06-16 09:24:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15433965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZaccRiseC3P/pseuds/ZaccRiseC3P
Summary: Nathan convinces Arthur and Harold that it's time to pull a prank the school will never forget.  Will they slip up and get caught or will they become legends among their fellow classmates?





	1. The Plan

**Author's Note:**

> This story is based on the conversation Harold has with Arthur Claypool in S3E13 "Alethia" where they talk about how they pulled a prank during the Harvard/Yale game. I tried to be as accurate as possible but took some creative liberties since they don't go into much detail. Hope you enjoy the story!

****

#  Chapter 1 - The Plan 

****

“I’m so bored,” Arthur complained.  
  
It was a normal Friday night in 1981. Three seemingly ordinary college students sat in their dorm room at MIT with nothing to do. Harold, the diligent student that he was, sat at his desk working on the weekend’s homework. Nathan, uninterested in getting ahead, layed on his bed reading the first sci-fi book he found at the campus library. While Arthur stayed sprawled out on the floor staring at the ceiling, waiting for an idea to come to him.  
  
“Why don’t you find something to do then?” Harold suggested.  
  
“I would, but how am I supposed to do that when it’s ten o’clock on a Friday night and my best friends are doing homework and reading,” Arthur answered.  
  
“If you want different friends we won’t be offended, Arthur,” Nathan responded, not looking up from his book.  
  
“I don’t want different friends, I just want to do something,” Arthur clarified.  
  
There was a short pause before Arthur voiced an idea, “What if we go to the Harvard-Yale game tomorrow?”  
  
“The basketball game?” Nathan asked.  
  
“Yeah!” Arthur confirmed.  
  
“Why would we do that?”  
  
“Because it’s fun.”  
  
“To cheer on teams that aren’t ours?”  
  
“To get involved!”  
  
“I don’t know. Both those schools have a hard time getting off their high horses. I’d rather not.”  
  
“Harold, help me out here,” Arthur insisted.  
  
“I’m sorry, I really couldn’t care less,” Harold admitted, head buried in his work.  
  
“Ugh, you’re both hopeless,” Arthur sighed.  
  
Another short span of silence filled the room until Arthur figured out the perfect way to get Nathan on board with his idea.  
  
“You know, I’m pretty sure Olivia said she was going,” Arthur divulged.  
  
Nathan perked up when he heard the name of the girl he had had a crush on since freshman year. He put his book down and asked, “Really?”  
  
Arthur only nodded to confirm.  
  
“Then I’m in,” Nathan decided.  
  
"What happened to 'they can’t get off their high horse’?" Harold questioned, confused by the sudden change in tone.  
  
"They can’t. That's why we won’t go for the game," Nathan suggested.  
  
"Why else would we go?" Arthur wondered.  
  
Nathan didn’t answer right away, he just traded looks with his friends, insinuating that he had a plan.  
  
"I know that look. It's not a good look,” Harold cautioned. “What are you thinking, Nathan?"  
  
"What if we take over the game?" Nathan suggested vaguely.  
  
"Take it over how...?" Arthur wondered aloud.  
  
"Well we're all software engineers-" Nathan started. He was cut off by Harold.  
  
"Studying to be software engineers."  
  
"Same thing."  
  
Arthur and Harold answered in unison, "Not really."  
  
"Whatever, we know enough," Nathan settled.  
  
"Enough to do what?" Arthur reiterated.  
  
“Enough to hack the sound system and send a message,” Nathan finally revealed.  
  
“What kind of message, exactly?”  
  
“The kind of message that will put both schools in their place.”  
  
“Nathan, that’s a horrible idea,” Harold informed him.  
  
“I have to agree with Harold this time, Nathan,” Arthur concurred. “If we got caught we would be expelled on the spot.”  
  
“Oh come on you two, lighten up,” Nathan begged. “We won’t get expelled.”  
  
“And how do you know that?” Harold asked.  
  
“Because we won’t get caught,” Nathan stated flatly  
  
A simultaneous scoff was heard from both Harold and Arthur.  
  
“I’m serious,” Nathan exclaimed. “When was the last time we did something risky?”  
  
“Trust me, I’ve been there. Sometimes the risk isn’t worth it,” Harold added, clearly alluding to something he wasn’t willing to share.  
  
“Oh come on, this could be incredible!” Nathan insisted. “If we plan this right, people could be talking about it for decades. So what do you guys say?”  
  
Nathan’s friends hesitated. It took a second before two very different answers were given.  
  
“Ok, let’s do it,” Arthur nodded.  
  
“Count me out,” Harold decided.  
  
“Harold-” Nathan sighed.  
  
“Seriously, I don’t want to be involved,” Harold told them.  
  
“Why not?” Nathan asked.  
  
“For one, your plan is illegal.”  
  
“Details,” Nathan said, waving his hand as if it was an irrelevant point.  
  
Harold continued, “Two, you don’t even have a real plan.”  
  
“We can figure that out right now,” Nathan told him. “Arthur, grab a notebook. We’ve got some planning to do.”


	2. The Hack

****

# Chapter 2 - The Hack

****

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Harold complained.

The three friends made their way through the arena while looking for a specific entrance.

“Cheer up, Harold,” Nathan laughed. “This isn’t the worst thing we’ve ever done.”

“No, but it’s definitely up there.”

“Ah, found it,” Nathan exclaimed, ignoring his friend’s concerns.

They stopped in front of a door labeled ‘Employees Only.’ Nathan kneeled down and took thirty seconds to pick the lock on the door. When they stepped through the door, they found themselves in a stairwell with one staircase leading up and another leading down. 

“Ok, I’ll go upstairs and try to find the sound room,” Nathan instructed. “You and Arthur head downstairs and disable the security system. Here, take this.” Nathan handed Harold a walky talky. “Call me on this when you’ve turned off the alarm. Good luck, boys.”

“Don’t get caught,” Harold warned.

“Come on, Harold. Have a little faith,” Nathan smiled. He then ran up the stairs and disappeared.

“Let’s go!” Arthur encouraged before taking off towards the basement.

“Hey, wait up!” Harold called after him.

After emerging from the stairs, Arthur and Harold started walking through a dimly lit corridor beneath the arena.

“It’s really creepy down here,” Arthur observed.

“Another reason we should do this as quickly as possible,” Harold insisted.

A few steps later, Harold spotted what looked like a junction box labeled ‘Harvard Security.’

“There it is,” Harold stated. He opened the box to see what they were dealing with. “It looks like there’s a backup in case the wire is cut. I’ll have to disable both for it to work.”

“How long will that take?” Arthur asked.

“Ninety seconds,” Harold estimated.

“Oh please, it’ll take longer than that.”

“We’ll see.”

Precisely ninety seconds went by before Harold announced, “Done.”

“Wow, that was punctual,” Arthur stated in surprise.

Without responding to Arthur’s comment, Harold pulled out the walky talky Nathan gave him and reported, “Ok, Nathan. We’re done here. The rest is up to you.”

“ _Alright, boys. It’s showtime_ ,” Nathan proclaimed.

The line went silent. Harold and Arthur assumed that was their cue to head back to the surface. On there way back, Arthur had one burning question.

“Are you sure you did everything correctly? Because if the alarm isn’t disabled then Nathan’s gonna get- you know, expelled.”

“Everything’ll be fine, Arthur,” Harold reassured him. “And frankly I’m a little hurt you would doubt me.”

In no time at all, the three met up again in the same place they parted.

“Mission complete,” Nathan confirmed.

“I didn’t hear anything, though,” Harold worried.

“I put it on a timer,” Nathan told them. “It should play right after the third quarter.”

“Why time it?” Arthur wondered.

“In case any one saw us, the timeline will be off,” Nathan answered.

“You really thought of everything, didn’t you.”

“Someone had to,” Nathan said. “Come on, let’s get out of here”

~~~~~~~~~~

Most of the time, Nathan hated Monday’s just as much as any student, but this Monday was different. He knew that there would be buzz all around campus of what the three friends had done, and he couldn’t wait to hear it.

The first class of the day, Nathan, Harold, and Arthur walked in and took their seats. A conversation immediately caught Nathan’s ear, and he directed his friends’ attention to it as well.

“Hey did you go to the game on Saturday night?” They heard a classmate ask.

“No, but I heard what happened,” a second student answered.

“Wait, what are you guys talking about?” the third friend inquired.

“At the Harvard-Yale game yesterday, someone hacked the sound system and started playing our schools anthem during the third quarter,” the first classmate explained.

“Seriously? Does anyone know who did it?” the third person wondered.

“No, whoever did it, they still haven’t been caught,” classmate-one updated.

Nathan leaned into his friends and whispered, “I told you it would be worth it. This school will remember this forever, even if they don’t know our names, they’ll always remember what we did.”

“I thought you only did this to impress Olivia,” Arthur mentioned straight forward. “How is that supposed to pan out if no one knows it was us?”

“Who ever said that was the reason I did it?” Nathan asked defensively.

“You didn’t have to,” Harold added. “Your reaction when Arthur said her name three nights ago said it all. But if you tell her about this and it spreads around, we would all be screwed, Nathan.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right- as always,” Nathan admitted begrudgingly. “I’ll figure out a different way to get her attention. For now, enjoy the moment you two. We just made history.”


End file.
